Her engagement to shaman Durek Verrett caused quite a stir. And for criticism, after all, Norway's Princess Märtha Louise seemed to be thinking more about her own interests than those of the court. But now there should be a clear cut.
The Norwegian princess Märtha Louise, who is engaged to a shaman, will no longer perform any official duties of the royal family until further notice. In doing so, she wanted to help ensure that her own business activities and her role at court were more clearly separated, the Norwegian royal family said in Oslo.
The 51-year-old therefore decided, in consultation with her father King Harald V. and the closest family, not to take on any official duties at this point in time, it said. However, Harald decided that she would keep her title of princess.
Organizations of which Crown Prince Haakon's sister is a patron have already been informed of the move. Other royal family representatives are now to take Märtha Louise's place.
The princess got engaged to Durek Verrett, also known in the US as shaman Durek, in June. The princess has been criticized several times in recent years for mixing commercial interests and her official title.
"The Princess and her fiancé Durek Verrett want to make the difference between their own activities and the royal family clear," the court said. This means, among other things, that the princess title and references to members of the royal family will no longer be used on its own social network channels or in media productions.
After the wedding, Verrett will be part of the royal family, but traditionally will not have titles or perform representational tasks, it said. With the decision, she wanted to help ensure that peace could come to the royal family and her fiancé, Märtha Louise said herself.
The background to the move seems to be Verrett's controversial statements on health issues. Among other things, he explained on Instagram in the summer that he had refused hospital treatment after a corona infection and instead used a medallion to get well again. Märtha Louise now said in an Instagram video that, as a trained physiotherapist, she is interested in health and research. However, she regards alternative medicine as an important supplement to conventional medicine.
